Persian Chickpea and Chicken Dumplings

Another quick one from me...guess who finally downloaded her pics?! This recipe was in the New York Times last week and we tried it over the weekend. Kind of a cross between matzo balls and meatballs. Really tasty! As Mike and Elaine can tell you, the Einspruchs are suckers for anything involving chickpeas! And cardamom?! Unusual and very yummy.

Persian Chickpea and Chicken Dumplings

8 SERVINGS

4 medium onions, peeled and quartered

1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast

8 ounces (about 2 1/4 cups) chickpea flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cardamom, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon cumin

4 quarts chicken soup

Handful each of finely chopped basil, parsley, mint and cilantro

1. Using a food processor with a steel blade, pulse onions until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Pulse chicken until it has the consistency of ground meat.

2. Combine onions and chickpea flour in a bowl and mix well with hands. Add chicken, oil, salt, pepper, turmeric, cardamom and cumin. Mix well, adding a bit of water if needed, to make a dough about the consistency of meatballs. Refrigerate until well-chilled, about 3 hours.

3. Dip hands in cold water and divide mixture into 16 portions. Shape into balls about 2 inches in diameter. Bring soup to boil. Gently add dumplings one at a time and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, toss together basil, parsley, mint and cilantro.

4. Ladle soup and dumplings into serving bowls, and sprinkle with mixed herbs.